California!

We loved playing at the park by Auntie Lindsay’s House. And her three wheeled bike is pretty awesome too!




The next day we went to the spa that Lin had gift certificates for. We dropped the kids off to play in Santa Clarita and Betty, Lin and I drove down. At the Spa, they had a mud pool where you covered yourself in mud, then baked in the sun to dry it. Then you rubbed it off, went back in the pool to wash it off more, and then showered off. It was fun.





They also had sulfur springs, a hot and cold pool called “The Polar Plunge” (of which I didn’t think I would do, but I totally ended up dunking), and an under ground grotto. In the grotto, they painted our bodies with green goop and we sat in a heated cave, then sat in a chilled cave and drank tea. We also brought a great picnic with us and ate fancy bread, cheese, hummus, meat and fruit in the parking lot. It was pretty great.

We stayed the night at Curt and Betty’s again and in the morning, we went on a walk through these trails to get to the grocery store.

California!

The next day, Lin, Travis and I went down to L.A. for Lin’s attempted version of Baby A. Unfortunately, it wasn’t successful, but we were able to meet her doctor and we both loved him. The whole process took longer than expected and I didn’t want the kids to be home alone all day, so Betty was gracious enough to go get the kids and bring them to her house. Carley was dying were to see her cousins and I was so grateful Betty did that. The kids all gun out and had a great time.
Lin was always rubbing her belly with oils and lotions to try to prevent stretch marks :)

The three little boys were hunting zombies



And uncle Curtis was so fun too

Betty made these awesome shrimp spring rolls!

So we brought the cousins back with us to Moorpark and had a sleepover. Liz and Sam are some talented ladies with hair and make up. Carley, Taylor and I all got to benefit from it.

California!

The next day, Lin, Travis and I went down to L.A. for Lin’s attempted version of Baby A. Unfortunately, it wasn’t successful, but we were able to meet her doctor and we both loved him. The whole process took longer than expected and I didn’t want the kids to be home alone all day, so Betty was gracious enough to go get the kids and bring them to her house. Carley was dying were to see her cousins and I was so grateful Betty did that. The kids all gun out and had a great time.
Lin was always rubbing her belly with oils and lotions to try to prevent stretch marks :)

The three little boys were hunting zombies



And uncle Curtis was so fun too

Betty made these awesome shrimp spring rolls!

So we brought the cousins back with us to Moorpark and had a sleepover. Liz and Sam are some talented ladies with hair and make up. Carley, Taylor and I all got to benefit from it.

California!

We had been so excited to go to California and see the family for so long. We tried to go visit during Christmas but things didn’t work out financially. So now we got to go for the birth of the twins! The kids and I were thrilled!
It was the easiest trip I’ve made with kids. Everyone was older and were able to help with bags and kept busy playing games on a phone during the flight.





Also, because our seats weren’t together, people were kind enough to switch their seats around to allow Carley and Taylor to sit together and me and Bubs to sit together. Carley sat next to a Dad whose family sat in front of him. He struck up a conversation with her and played cards with her for a while. Taylor joined in the fun a bit also. I am grateful for good people in the world.

My lovely sister came and got us and it was so great to see her! She had quite the belly! We went right over to in-n-out to eat and to let some traffic die down before driving home



And then we stopped off at Rite Aid to get Thrify’s ice cream on the ride home. We were already on our way towards checking off bucket list items we hoped to do while we were visiting.

The reunion with midnight when we showed up.

California!

We had been so excited to go to California and see the family for so long. We tried to go visit during Christmas but things didn’t work out financially. So now we got to go for the birth of the twins! The kids and I were thrilled!
It was the easiest trip I’ve made with kids. Everyone was older and were able to help with bags and kept busy playing games on a phone during the flight.





Also, because our seats weren’t together, people were kind enough to switch their seats around to allow Carley and Taylor to sit together and me and Bubs to sit together. Carley sat next to a Dad whose family sat in front of him. He struck up a conversation with her and played cards with her for a while. Taylor joined in the fun a bit also. I am grateful for good people in the world.

My lovely sister came and got us and it was so great to see her! She had quite the belly! We went right over to in-n-out to eat and to let some traffic die down before driving home



And then we stopped off at Rite Aid to get Thrify’s ice cream on the ride home. We were already on our way towards checking off bucket list items we hoped to do while we were visiting.

The reunion with midnight when we showed up.

Pre-Christmas Celebrations and Piano Recital

Here we are heading over to the trolley pick-up by Longs. We walk over there, catch the trolley and ride it over to the tree lighting ceremony at Castle Hospital. The kids like to make the crafts, get a flashlight, drink hot chocolate, eat popcorn and mini apples, and hear the bands and performers. This year, we went early (we actually left before the actual lights came on), but we had a great time and avoided a bunch of the crowds.After Taylor's hula class on Saturday, we went to Savers to look for a stuffed animal and a few other Christmas items. April Alexander asked is to look for an ugly Christmas sweater or a turtle neck. Here were some of the contenders.Jimmy has started a tradition of making ugly Christmas sweater-t-shirts. We all wore the one we made to the ward Christmas party 

The girls had their second piano recital. They played wonderfully! I could watch them all day. It makes me such a proud mom. It's wonderful to see how all their practicing and work has helped them to play pretty music. First, Taylor played "Oh Christmas Tree" then Carley joined her on stage where they played "Hungarian Dance" and then Taylor stepped down and she played "Carol of The Bells". We also got to see a bunch of friends there. The Gibsons, the Speeds, the Thorntons, the LaDukes, the Tyaus, the Morses, and others were there. Unfortunately, while we were there, TD's sister who has been struggling with cancer on the mainland passed away. Poor TD. She said last night that she hasn't worn make-up for two months because she has been crying for two months. It's hard to see her hurting. All of us friends were crying with her while people started the pot-luck after the recital while we were in the chapel. All of us have sisters too and can't imagine losing ours. What an unfair deal.